Harry Potter and the Vampire's Court
by Itzika
Summary: Of the dozens of pureblood families out there, there are eight that share a mission above and beyond that of the Wizarding World. And Harry is about to become very well acquainted, not only with those families, but with that mission.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Harry Potter and the Vampire's Court

Author: Itzika

Summary: Of the dozens of pureblood families out there, there are eight that share a mission above and beyond that of the Wizarding World. And Harry is about to become very well acquainted, not only with those families, but with that mission.

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: Hi! Um, I like this plotline, so I actually went and started writing it. Seriously, I don't write _nearly_ as many stories as I think of. Anyway, I have some other fics going, you might have noticed, but I think I'll be updating my new HP fics more often, as that is my current obsession. I do like reviews! When I get lots of reviews, I feel like I should write for the reviewers! So, please review!

Disclaimer: While I do own one copy of each Harry Potter book, I do NOT own Harry Potter itself.

* * *

Draco stared down the length of his wand at Albus Dumbledore, the man's promises ringing in his ears. Safety for his mother, protection for himself…

Did the man honestly think such things _mattered_ anymore?

"My father died in Azkaban," he told the headmaster, "a week ago."

Draco could see the moment when Albus realized what that meant. He could see the man's body become, suddenly, so still that he might not have breathed.

"You can't be the last as well," Tom said softly to Albus. Draco twitched at the sound of the teen's voice; Tom could be so quiet Draco often forgot he was there. He looked over at the dark-haired boy, who was staring at Albus with a laser intensity. "You _can't_ have been so irresponsible… Don't tell me," he said, voice rising in temper, "that you actually _set yourself up to die_ without leaving someone in your place?!"

Draco's head whipped around to look at Albus fiercely. The blue eyes he knew so well were scanning the air beside Draco in vain, trying to see the one who had spoken. Draco's wand hand slackened its grip, lowering for a moment in relief as Albus shook his head infinitesimally.

Four Death Eaters ran onto the tower top.

Draco stiffened in surprise—he hadn't even heard the newcomers coming up the steps. Tom, on the other hand, ignored them, stepping forward slowly, as far from Draco as he could go. His eyes were boring into Albus' blue ones.

"Where's the fang?" he asked abruptly, watching Albus' face, listening for the answer.

Albus was talking to the new arrivals now, as pleasant as though they were talking over tea; but Draco could see the focus in his eyes and knew where the real conversation was being held. A glance at Tom confirmed his suspicions; the boy was nodding thoughtfully.

Draco missed the next question Tom posed as Albus made a remark to Greyback that the blond simply couldn't let go unchallenged.

"I didn't," he began, but Tom shook his head for him to be silent and Draco shut up. The dark-haired boy turned from Albus and walked back to the young Slytherin.

"Hate to say it, Drake, but if you don't do this, it's all going to turn out very badly." Tom's voice had lost all emotion.

Draco stared at Tom, wide-eyed. He had opened his mouth to shape the question when Tom interrupted, reminding him that there were other people there.

"Hush, Drake. Think for a moment." Draco frowned. Tom sighed. "Assuming you fail, who's next in line to receive this job?"

Draco's eyes widened in realization.

Tom was looking over Draco's shoulder not. His body had grown rigid in shock and fear. Draco made to look behind him, but Tom grabbed his shoulders, eyes panicky.

"Don't," he whispered frantically. "There's no time. Just—"

Draco raised his wand again, comprehension hitting him like a gut punch from the Whomping Willow. Dimly he heard Albus pleading—and then the voice he had feared screamed the words that would end it all…

And with a jet of green light and a rushing sound, the blue eyes dimmed, the body was thrown inexplicably over the tower's edge, and a year of planning and work fell to pieces.

* * *

Okay, I feel like I'm saying this a lot today, but this is a lot shorter than the other chapters will be. Please drop a review on the way out!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, here it is: the second chapter! I thought about stopping it earlier, but then I decided to give you guys a longer chapter like I promised. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to hold off on the full explanation for a little longer (I thought about telling all next chapter), but I think next chapter will be fun. (I think this chapter is fun, too, although completely insane…) If you think I should answer some questions next chapter, tell me in a review. I'll see about answering a few.

Oh, and I know I told all of you this already, but THANK YOU to my reviewers, Alexandraya, Celeste Jacobs, and ceo55!

Now, here's the chapter! Enjoy!

Oh, wait…

Disclaimer: Definition: FANfiction. Fiction written by someone who does not own the original work. I am not the exception to this definition.

NOW, enjoy!

* * *

Snape grabbed Draco's arm. _"Come on!"_ he hissed, and Draco found himself being dragged toward the door and down the stairs. Still numb over what had just happened, Draco looked over at his godfather's face and found a carefully smooth expression.

The face of someone who had just killed one for whom they had cared.

Then Snape was shouting to the Death Eaters, and Tom was hissing in Draco's ear, and Draco turned to see Harry Potter running down from the tower top.

"How did he get up there?" Tom hissed.

"His Invisibility Cloak," Draco said dully. "Must've been…"

"His _what?_ He has a _what_ now?! Dammit, Drake, why didn't you tell me—Draco!" Tom ran after the boy and his godfather. "Draco, you have to pass it on! I have to get to Albus' office, and you're headed the wrong way!"

Draco stumbled a moment, then started running on his own strength so he could get some distance away from Snape. "Pass it on to _whom?_" he demanded in a barely audible whisper as they barreled down another staircase. "Longbottom doesn't know, the Weasleys think _I _don't know—"

"Ravenclaw," Tom interrupted confidently.

Draco shot him an incredulous look. "The girl's _mad!_"

"This is one of those times when being crazy is a good thing. _Think_, Draco," Tom told him impatiently. "We need someone who knows, _and_ who'll listen to me. It's got to be her. Now _pass it on to her._"

Fortune made the choice for Draco. Not a moment later, he spotted a familiar head of hair by the next flight of stairs down. His hand flew to his throat as he ran up to the person, and in the split second before he rounded the banister, he pressed something round and heavy into her free hand.

* * *

She felt something pressed into her hand and heard a voice whisper, _"Take it,"_ before the pounding footsteps continued down the stairs and her fingers shaped themselves to clutch the object firmly.

"Hello, Ravenclaw," said a smooth tenor voice. She jumped and opened her mouth to scream, only to have a slim, long-fingered hand pressed against her mouth as its partner pried the mystery object from her hand. "Don't scream," the new person said hurriedly as he fumbled pulling a chain over her head. "Just stay quiet for a moment and listen."

She nodded, quieting as she saw what lay on her chest, bearing the symbol with which she was so familiar. "Now," the youth said, "you need to get to Albus Dumbledore's office. All right? Get me to Albus' office. And remember—no one else can see me, and only a few people can hear me, and then only if I want them to. _Go!_"

She nodded, turning toward the voice. Her wide eyes found a handsome face set with green eyes and framed with black hair. She raised a hand to touch the face she had only ever seen in pictures, her eyes wide and amazed. Finally she took a step past him, toward the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office.

Her foot bumped something on the floor.

* * *

Harry had chased Snape and Malfoy halfway across the grounds, the other Death Eaters close on their heels, when from the castle there came a piercing scream of grief and rage, so loud and shrill that it was clearly audible from where Harry stood.

He turned and looked behind him, and saw as he did that many Death Eaters had also stopped to look. For such a long moment that some people turned away and continued running, nothing happened. Then, a small blonde figure burst through the castle doors. Harry had just had time to recognize the girl when her voice, still high and shrill, split the air.

"_SECTUMSEMPRA!"_

For a moment, Harry thought he must have misheard—but no, there was the slashing motion that accompanied the cutting spell. Luna's target turned to look, jumped backwards out of the way—

Too slow. The edge of the spell cut almost clean through Greyback's arm. His wand fell from his limp hand.

Luna ran down from the castle, eyes bulging with blatant madness. "Like it?" she shrieked, her wand trained on the werewolf. "My _mother_ taught me that spell!"

Harry looked back at Snape, confused now. Snape looked as bewildered and incredulous as Harry.

Luna kept shouting, apparently unaware of the chaos her words had caused. "She taught me this one too—_CRUCIO!"_

Whatever she might next have said was drowned out by Greyback's animal howl.

Harry stared at Luna, brain frozen, refusing to comprehend what the girl had just done. Luna walked slowly down from the castle, the madness on her face growing, if anything, the longer the spell went on. Greyback kept screaming long after he should have had to draw breath. His arm, the arm that shouldn't have been able to move, jerked on the ground. His entire body convulsed. When he finally stopped screaming, he seemed incapable of drawing another breath.

And still, Luna kept up the curse.

Harry's head shook in disbelief. He should have been chasing Snape and Malfoy, but they also had seemed incapable of movement since Luna had appeared and started throwing out curses. The other Death Eaters should have moved to stop Luna, to help Greyback—but all of them appeared to be too stunned to do anything. The madness on Luna's face exceeded anything even Voldemort had ever shown—it was understandable for them to be shocked.

Harry looked for some way of stopping Luna; but there were dozens of Death Eaters between them. Even if he moved to stop her, he didn't believe their collective paralysis would extend to letting him go freely among them.

Then no one was going to stop the girl. She had been casting the curse for several minutes without pause, and she would continue to cast it until Greyback died. No one should die that way… Luna should not kill that way…

"_EXPELLIARMUS!"_

Luna's wand flew out of her hand and high, high into the air. Her eyes, still wide and mad, followed it upward, until the darkness claimed it. Her hand rose to catch it as it started to come down.

"_ACCIO!"_

Another voice, identical to the first in pitch and cadence, but rougher, more tired, yelled the Summoning Charm. Luna's wand flew from the air toward the castle. Harry looked to the castle and saw two identical red-haired figures running down across the grounds. One of them reached Luna and grabbed her shoulders; the other, who held two wands, trained one on Greyback.

Harry couldn't hear what Fred told Luna; he could barely make out George's voice at all when the twin spoke to Greyback. But he saw that Greyback, still shuddering from the curse, staggered to his feet and snatched up his wand with his good hand before running, breaking the spell over the other Death Eaters and prompting them to run as well; and he saw, by the light spilling from the open castle doors, in the moment before he resumed his earlier task of pursuing Snape and Draco, that the madness had faded from Luna's face, and tears, spilling freely down her face and soaking the collar of her robes, had replaced it.

* * *

A/N: So? What do you think? Did you like it? Please, PLEASE review! Reviews are so loved!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, this is the third chapter. I thought this might be where we get some answers, but I cut it off a little shorter than that. So, here it is! Please, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Duh.

* * *

Fred shook Luna's shoulders. "Luna. Luna!"

Dazed, still wide-eyed and mad, Luna looked over at him.

Fred shook his head. "Luna," he said softly, "it's over. It's done. Don't throw everything away trying to fix something that cannot be changed."

Luna stared at him. The madness drained from her face slowly. Tears welled up in her eyes and flooded over.

Tom put a hand on her shoulder. "Luna," he said softly. Luna shook her head and buried her face in Fred's shoulder.

George raised his own wand and pointed it at Greyback. "The man you attacked was our brother," he told the man, not bothering to quiet his voice. "Now, we stopped _Luna_… but if I were you, I'd run before we decide that was a mistake."

Greyback was shuddering all over from Luna's curse. George couldn't help feeling a strange, twisted admiration for Luna's spellwork; not many Light witches could cast an Unforgivable Curse.

The werewolf stood, staggering as his feet took his weight. His good hand grabbed his wand from where it lay in the grass. George didn't lower his wand until the werewolf had turned and run.

Luna wiped her face on her sleeve. Her tears had by no means stopped, but they had at least slowed to where she could see through them. She shook off Fred's restraining hands and turned to George. She extended her hand wordlessly for her wand.

George held back for a moment, but only that. The look in Luna's eyes was just as hard as when she had yelled her last incantation, and she would not be defied. He handed over the wand quickly.

Luna walked past the twins toward the castle, Tom at her shoulder. "Hey!" Fred yelled. "Where are you going?"

Luna stopped for a moment and looked back over her shoulder. At that moment, she looked remarkably like a heroine from old, and so completely untouchable that Fred wouldn't have tried to stop her for another thousand Galleons.

"I have to get to Albus' office," she said. Even the deadened quality to her voice brought on by her intense crying did not lessen the steel in her eyes. Fred and George did not protest as she headed on.

* * *

When they reached the gargoyle leading to the headmaster's office, Luna stopped. For the first time since entering the castle, her face showed uncertainty.

"Umm…" she said. "I… don't know the password."

"That's not a problem." Tom waved away this news impatiently. "The password is _sugar quill_."

"Sugar quill?" Luna repeated incredulously. At her words, the gargoyle leapt aside, revealing the moving staircase beyond.

"And what do you say?" Tom asked in a patronizing tone.

"I say the man was crazier than I am," Luna told him, and stepped onto the staircase. Tom followed.

The headmaster's office was filled with oddities that brought a broad grin to Luna's face: the tiny silver instruments on their spindly silver tables; the stone Pensieve in the cupboard; the portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses hanging all over the walls. When they saw Fawkes, Luna gasped softly in wonder. Even Tom seemed impressed.

Luna walked up to the phoenix, but Tom interrupted her. "Time enough for that later," he said. "We need to get the fang."

"Don't you need the diary?" Luna asked, turning to face Tom. There was a small smile on her face.

Tom seemed taken aback, but only for a moment. "The diary…" he said softly. "How do you know about that?"

"Ginny's in my year," Luna told him. "We have a lot of classes together. I saw her with that diary, and I saw it absorb a whole bottle of ink when Harry had it. It's remarkably easy to learn things when seven of the most powerful wizards in the world are your allies."

Tom blinked. "Who told you?" he asked.

"Ginny's brother, Bill." Sadness flitted across Luna's face for a moment before she went on. "Then Albus. So, don't you need the diary?"

Tom shook his head, half in amazement, half in reply. "No, I don't. Not anymore." At Luna's questioning look, he sighed. "What you're wearing is another Horcrux." Luna looked down at it, horrified. Tom stilled her hand as it moved to pull off the locket. "It's alright! When the diary was destroyed, I moved to this Horcrux. I pushed the other piece of soul out, so it's just me in there. I can manifest, well… because of who I am."

"So why do you need the fang?" Luna asked, now beginning to search the shelves for it. "Why do you need that _particular_ fang?"

"It's from my familiar," he said.

"Then your familiar's _dead_," Luna said, finally locating and taking down the basilisk fang. "What will you do now?"

"There are _generations_ of basilisks down there. I can claim any of them, bond with any of them. But you can't speak Parseltongue to get into the Chamber, so I need that fang. Besides, it knows my—Voldemort's—Horcruxes, so it will be easier to use for this."

Luna nodded thoughtfully. "But it's going to take a while. I'm not ready to use this thing yet."

Tom sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I know, I—" He stopped, apparently listening. "Get out! We've got to get out of here!"

"Why? What's going on?" Luna listened, but her own ears picked up nothing.

Tom pushed her over to Fawkes. "Just grab the bloody bird! People are coming! We need to be gone _now!_"

Luna's eyes widened. She grabbed Fawkes' tail, making sure to keep a hold of the basilisk fang with her other hand. Tom gripped her shoulders tightly so they wouldn't be separated.

"Fawkes," he said, "Albus is dead. Go to your new Master."

The bird raised its head, stretched its wings, and burst into a ball of flame that raced down Luna's body, consuming the girl and her companion with no more heat than a Floo fire.

* * *

Harry pursued the two Death Eaters through the gates and out onto the road. Blinded by rage, he barely noticed the _pops_ and _cracks_ of the other Death Eaters Disapparating. He reached out and grabbed Snape's robe. His wand was in his hand; he was going to hurt Snape, to kill him—

"Peverell!" Malfoy yelled. Harry froze. "Peverell, don't!" the Slytherin shouted.

Harry's arms were locked in place. He didn't understand what Malfoy had said, but it—_meant_ something… Something important…

Then Snape yanked his arm away, and Harry's paralysis lifted as the man grabbed Malfoy and Disapparated.

A frustrated scream tore through Harry's throat and ripped through the air. "NO!" he shouted. "No! Get back here, you cowards!"

"They can't hear you, Harry," Fred said from behind him.

Harry whirled to face the twins. Fred and George stood just a few feet behind him. There was no laughter in their faces; their eyes were haunted.

George held out his hand. "Come on, Harry," he said. "Plenty of time for revenge later."

Harry stared at the extended hand, unsure of what he was supposed to do with it. The silence weighed heavily on his ears. In the Forbidden Forest, a crow called and a wolf howled; he heard Fang barking in reply. The sounds seemed lighter than the silence, somehow. Still he didn't move.

George lowered his hand. Fred wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, and the three of them started up towards the castle.

* * *

Some of the haze around Harry's mind lifted when he saw all the Weasleys in the hospital wing. Certainly he was suddenly lucid enough to ask, "What happened?"

Ron looked back at Harry and moved away from the bed. Harry gasped.

Bill lay on the bed, blood-soaked and covered in gashed. His face was a mess; his hands looked like raw hamburger. He opened one bruised eye when Harry opened and attempted a smile. "I look a right mess, huh?"

Fred and George left Harry's side and went over to their oldest brother. Still, there was no laughter in either face. Mr. Weasley stood off to one side, stony-faced; Ron looked shaken where he stood with Hermione. Mrs. Weasley had started dabbing ointment on Bill's wounds. Ginny was standing against the wall, looking like she had when Harry had woken her up in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Greyback attacked him," she told Harry. "When it wasn't even the full moon. How _sick_ is that?"

Harry didn't answer. In the absence of any new shocking revelations, the haze around his mind was coming back.

"Sick…" Ron moaned. "So wrong… What's gonna happen to Bill _now?_"

Mrs. Weasley seemed to take this question worse than she had the attack; she collapsed, crying, over her son, who appeared to have passed out.

Mr. Weasley looked over at Lupin, still smooth-faced.

Lupin, however, seemed almost as clueless as they were. "I don't know what will happen, Arthur. I doubt Bill will be a full werewolf, but there will probably be some contamination. He'll probably have some wolfish characteristics from now on."

Ron flinched and covered his face with his hands. "No…" Harry could hear him say. "Not Bill… This can't be happening…"

"I wish it weren't," Lupin said softly.

"Of course, it doesn't matter w-what he l-looks like," Mrs. Weasley was sobbing, "b-but he was always such a beautiful b-boy… And he was g-going to be married…" Mr. Weasley twitched.

Fleur took offense at Mrs. Weasley's words. Harry didn't hear most of their argument, but he noticed Fleur take the ointment from Mrs. Weasley and start treating Bill herself, and he noticed the two women suddenly start crying into each other's arms.

Hermione was the first to take real notice of Harry. "Harry, what happened?" she asked.

Harry stared at her, wide-eyed. _What happened…?_ Dumbledore's limp body flashed in front of his eyes… Draco, lowering his wand… Luna, attacking Greyback… Snape, hatred and revulsion twisting his face…

Hatred of his own coursed through his veins, finally penetrating and lifting the haze that filled his mind. "Dumbledore's dead," he said softly, then louder. "Dumbledore's dead. Snape killed him."

Harry hadn't reckoned on just how much it would affect everyone present for him to say that. Ron lifted his head from his hands and yelled _"WHAT?"_ Ginny's head snapped up, murder in her eyes, and she stepped away from the wall. Hermione took a step backward, hands flying to her mouth in shock. Bill tried to sit up and both Fleur and Mrs. Weasley moved to restrain him, although Fleur shrieked so loudly everyone clapped their hands over their ears.

"Why? What _exactly_ happened?" Lupin asked, looking dazed.

The next half hour or so was a blur of meaningless explanation as Harry recounted the events from the tower top. He hesitated at mentioning Luna's part, but Fred and George took that matter out of his hands.

"Off the record, Luna went temporarily insane—" Fred said.

"Meaning even crazier than usual—" George interrupted.

"And ran out—"

"And used a couple wicked nasty curses on Greyback—"

"When she found out Bill had been attacked," they finished together.

Ron stared at them. "Are we talking about the same Luna?" he asked blankly.

"Luna Lovegood, blond hair, wide eyes, likes talking about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and apparently very at home when riding a thestral," Harry supplied. "Anyway, after that, Snape and Malfoy got away. That's really all I know." Except the bit about the name Malfoy had shouted back at him, the name that he had already forgotten; and about the paralysis that had followed—and there was no way he was going to share that.

"Maybe you should go tell McGonagall about this," Mr. Weasley suggested. "Ron, Fred, George, you stay here. The rest of you should tell the Order what happened."

"Ginny stays, too," Bill broke in. His eyes were barely open, but he was awake again, if only for a moment before his eyes closed once more.

Mr. Weasley looked at Bill questioningly, but agreed, "And Ginny, too."

Ginny looked stunned. "Seriously?" she asked. "Oh, don't answer that—I'm staying here."

Mrs. Weasley looked even more surprised than her daughter, but she left the hospital wing with Fleur and the others.

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's not as good a cliffhanger stopping point as I normally would have liked, but I have some things to say!

First, I AM BACK IN SCHOOL. This means that I won't have a whole lot of time hanging heavy on my hands to play with the computer and churn out three chapters of fanfiction a week. What with me being on a major HP kick right now, I'll probably be working on these for a while yet, but I will work HARDER on the ones that get REVIEWED MORE. HINT! I updated this week, even though last chapter I didn't get ANY reviews, but I WILL NOT do that again. I will START working on the next chapter when I get a review for this chapter, and, like I said, how hard I work on it, and thus how quickly I update, will be directly proportional to the number of reviews that I get. Did that sound angry? Well, I am upset. I spend my own time on these stories—voluntarily—and it is nice when SOMEONE notices that and reviews. Okay? Thank you.

Second, (I kind of covered this in the first), if you want me to update sooner, then hit the little purply button and send in a review! Seriously, it doesn't take long, and it means that I won't take _as_ long. See how it keeps everyone happy?

So now, please, PLEASE review, and I'll be back soon! Thank you!


End file.
